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ifotm&atton Atones to ^apptnegsi 
ano J>ucces£ 



BOOKS BY JAMES ALLEN 

The Eight Pillars of Prosperity 

From Poverty to Power 

All These Things Added 

Byways of Blessedness 

The Life Triumphant 

Above Life's Turmoil 

The Mastery of Destiny 

As a Man Thinketh 

Out From the Heart 

Through the Gate of Good 

From Passion to Peace 

Man: 

King of Mind, Body, and 
Circumstance 

Poems of Peace 

Light on Life's Difficulties 

Foundation Stones to Happiness 
and Success 

Meditations: A Year Book 






FOUNDATION 
STONES 

TO 

BY 

JAMES ALLEN 

AUTHOR OF "AS A MAN THINKETH," 
"EIGHT PILLARS OF PROSPERITY," &C. 





THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 






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COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 

Published September, 1913 



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More Good is the recompense of Good ,• 
More Virtue is the reward of Virtue j 
More capacity is the crown of Use, 
In Goodness y Virtue , and the wise use of all 

our powers is all happiness* 
Other forms of happiness are fleeting, 
But this abides, and does not pass away. 



Jporetoorb 

HOW does a man begin the building 
of a house? He first secures a plan 
of the proposed edifice, and then proceeds 
to build according to the plan, scrupulously 
following it in every detail, beginning with 
the foundation. Should he neglect the be- 
ginning — the beginning on a mathematical 
plan — his labor would be wasted, and his 
building, should it reach completion with- 
out tumbling to pieces, would be insecure 
and worthless. The same law holds good 
in any important work: the right begin- 
ning and first essential is a definite mental 
plan on which to build. 

Nature will have no slipshod work, no 
slovenliness, and she annihilates confusion, 
or rather, confusion is in itself annihilated. 
Order, definiteness, purpose, eternally pre- 
vail, and he who in his operations ignores 
[ vii ] 



Jforetoorb 

these mathematical elements at once de- 
prives himself of substantiality, complete- 
ness, happiness, and success. 

James Allen 



EDITOR'S PREFACE 

This is one of the last manuscripts written 
by James Allen. Like all his works it 
is eminently practical. He never wrote 
theories, or for the sake of writing; but he 
wrote when he had a message, and it be- 
came a message only when he had lived it 
out in his own life, and knew that it w r as 
good. Thus he wrote facts, which he had 
proven by practice. 

To live out the teaching of this book 
faithfully in every detail of life will lead 
one to more than happiness and success — 
even to Blessedness, Satisfaction, and Peace. 

Lily L. Allen 

Bryngoleu 

Ilfracombe, England 

[ v "i ] 



Contents; 

PAGE 

RIGHT PRINCIPLES 1 

SOUND METHODS 11 

TRUE ACTIONS 21 

TRUE SPEECH 29 

EQUAL-MINDEDNESS 39 

GOOD RESULTS 45 



[he] 



fttS&t Principle* 



Cttgijt Principle* 

IT is wise to know what comes first, and 
what to do first To begin anything in 
the middle or at the end is to make a mud- 
dle of it The athlete who began by break- 
ing the tape would not receive the prize. 
He must begin by facing the starter and toe- 
ing the mark, and even then a good start is 
important if he is to win, The pupil does 
not begin with algebra and literature, but 
with counting and A B C. So in life- — the 
business men who begin at the bottom, 
achieve the more enduring success ; and the 
religious men who reach the highest heights 
of spiritual knowledge and wisdom are they 
who have stooped to serve a patient ap- 
prenticeship to the humbler tasks, and have 
not scorned the common experiences of hu- 
manity, or overlooked the lessons to be 
learned from them. 

The first things in a sound life — and 

[ 3 ] 



Jfounbation g>tont& to 

therefore in a truly happy and successful 
life — are right principles. Without right 
principles to begin with, there will be wrong 
practices to follow with, and a bungled and 
wretched life to end with. All the infinite 
variety of calculations which tabulate the 
commerce and science of the world, come 
out of the ten figures; all the hundreds of 
thousands of books which constitute the 
literature of the world, and perpetuate its 
thought and genius, are built up from the 
twenty-six letters. The greatest astronomer 
cannot ignore the ten simple figures. The 
profoundest man of genius cannot dispense 
with the twenty-six simple characters. The 
fundamentals in all things are few and sim- 
ple; yet without them there is no knowledge 
and no achievement. The fundamentals — 
the basic principles — in life, or true living, 
are also few and simple, and to learn them 
thoroughly, and study how to apply them 
to all the details of life, is to avoid con- 
fusion, and to secure a substantial founda- 

[ 4 ] 



I&appine** anb Success 

tion for the orderly building up of an in- 
vincible character and a permanent success; 
and to succeed in comprehending those prin- 
ciples in their innumerable ramifications in 
the labyrinth of conduct, is to become a 
Master of Life. 

The first principles in life are principles 
of conduct. To name them is easy. As 
mere words they are on all men's lips, but 
as fixed sources of action, admitting of no 
compromise, few have learned them. In 
this short talk I will deal with five only of 
these principles. These five are among the 
simplest of the root principles of life, but 
they are those that come nearest to the 
every-day life, for they touch the artisan, 
the business man, the householder, the citi- 
zen, at every point. Not one of them can 
be dispensed with but at severe cost, and he 
who perfects himself in their application 
will rise superior to many of the troubles 
and failures of life, and will come into these 
springs and currents of thought which flow 

[ 5] 



Jfounbation Atones! to 

harmoniously toward the regions of endur- 
ing success. First among these principles 
is — 

Duty. A much-hackneyed word, I 
know, but it contains a rare jewel for him 
who will seek it by assiduous application. 
The principle of duty means strict ad- 
herence to one's own business, and just as 
strict non-interference in the business of 
others. The man who is continually in- 
structing others, gratis, how to manage their 
affairs, is the one who most mismanages his 
own. 

Duty also means undivided attention 
to the matter in hand, intelligent concen- 
tration of the mind on the work to be done; 
it includes all that is meant by thorough- 
ness, exactness, and efficiency. The details 
of duties differ with individuals, and each 
man should know his own duty better than 
he knows his neighbor's, and better than 
his neighbor knows his; but although the 
working details differ, the principle is al- 
[ 6 ] 



ways the same. Who has mastered the de- 
mands of duty? 

Honesty is the next principle. It means 
not cheating or overcharging another. It 
involves the absence of all trickery, lying 
and deception by word, look or gesture. It 
includes sincerity, the saying what you 
mean, and the meaning what you say. It 
scorns cringing policy and shining compli- 
ment. It builds up good reputations, and 
good reputations build up good businesses, 
and bright joy accompanies well-earned suc- 
cess. Who has scaled the heights of Hon- 
esty? 

Economy is the third principle. The 
conservation of one's financial resources is 
merely the vestibule leading toward the 
more spacious chambers of true economy. 
It means, as well, the husbanding of one's 
physical vitality and mental resources. It 
demands the conservation of energy by the 
avoidance of enervating self-indulgences 
and sensual habits. It holds for its fol- 

[ 7 ] 



ifounbation J>tcmeg to 

lower, strength, endurance, vigilance, and 
capacity to achieve. It bestows great power 
on him who learns it well. Who has 
realized in all its force the supreme 
strength of Economy? 

Liberality follows economy. It is not 
opposed to it. Only the man of economy 
can afford to be generous. The spendthrift, 
whether in money, vitality, or mental en- 
ergy, wastes so much on his own miserable 
pleasures as to have none left to bestow 
upon others. The giving of money is the 
smallest part of liberality. There is a giv- 
ing of thoughts, and deeds, and sympathy, 
the bestowing of good-will, the being gen- 
erous toward calumniators and opponents. 
It is a principle that begets a noble, far- 
reaching influence. It brings loving friends 
and stanch comrades, and is the foe of 
loneliness and despair. Who has measured 
the breadth of Liberality? 

Self-control is the last of these five 
principles, yet the most important. Its 
[ 8 ] 



i^appmesK anb Success 

neglect is the cause of vast misery, innumer- 
able failures, and tens of thousands of finan- 
cial, physical, and mental wrecks. Show me 
the business man who loses his temper with 
a customer over some trivial matter, and I 
will show you a man who, by that condition 
of mind, is doomed to failure. If all men 
practised even the initial stages of self-con- 
trol, anger, with its consuming and destroy- 
ing fire, would be unknown. The lessons of 
patience, purity, gentleness, kindness and 
steadfastness which are contained in the 
principle of self-control, are slowly learned 
by men, yet until they are truly learned, a 
man's character and success are uncertain 
and insecure. Where is the man who has 
perfected himself in self-control ? Wherever 
he may be, he is a Master indeed. 

The five principles are five practices, five 
avenues to achievement, and five sources of 
knowledge. It is an old saying and a good 
rule that "Practice makes perfect," and he 
who would make his own the wisdom which 
[ 9 ] 



ifounbation ^tonefi 

is inherent in those principles, must not 
merely have them on his lips, they must be 
established in his heart. To know them, 
and receive what they alone can bring, he 
must do them, and give them out in his 
actions. 



[ IO ] 



^otmti Uteetfjob* 



FROM the five foregoing Right Prin- 
ciples, when they are truly appre- 
hended and practised, will issue Sound 
Methods. Right principles are manifested 
in harmonious action, and method is to life 
what law is to the universe. Everywhere 
in the universe there is the harmonious 
adjustment of parts, and it is this symmetry 
and harmony that reveals a cosmos, as dis- 
tinguished from chaos. So in human life, 
the difference between a true life and a 
false, between one purposeful and effective 
and one purposeless and weak, is one of 
method. The false life is an incoherent 
jumble of thoughts, passions, and actions; 
the true life is an orderly adjustment of all 
its parts. It is all the difference between a 
mass of lumber and a smoothly working 
efficient machine. A piece of machinery in 
perfect working order is not only a useful, 

c 13 ] 



JFounbatton ^>tonti to 

but an admirable and attractive thing; but 
when its parts are all out of gear, and re- 
fuse to be readjusted, its usefulness and at- 
tractiveness are gone, and it is thrown on 
the scrap-heap. Likewise a life perfectly 
adjusted in all its parts so as to achieve the 
highest point of efficiency, is not only a 
powerful, but an excellent and beautiful 
thing; whereas a life confused, inconsistent, 
discordant, is a deplorable exhibition of 
wasted energy. 

If life is to be truly lived, method must 
enter into, and regulate, every detail of it, 
as it enters and regulates every detail of 
the wondrous universe of which we form a 
part One of the distinguishing differences 
between a wise man and a foolish is, that 
the wise man pays careful attention to the 
smallest things, while the foolish man slurs 
over them, or neglects them altogether. 
Wisdom consists in maintaining things in 
their right relations, in keeping all things, 
the smallest as well as the greatest, in their 

[ 14 ] 



proper places and times. To violate order 
is to produce confusion and discord, and 
unhappiness is but another name for dis- 
cord. 

The good business man knows that sys- 
tem is three parts of success, and that dis- 
order means failure. The wise man knows 
that disciplined, methodical living is three 
parts of happiness, and that looseness means 
misery. What is a fool but one who thinks 
carelessly, acts rashly and lives loosely? 
What is a wise man but one who thinks 
carefully, acts calmly, and lives consistently ! 

The true method does not end with the 
orderly arrangement of the material things 
and external relations of life; this is but its 
beginning; it enters into the adjustment of 
the mind — the discipline of the passions, the 
elimination and choice of words in speech, 
the logical arrangement of the thoughts, 
and the selection of right actions. 

To achieve a life rendered sound, suc- 
cessful, and sweet by the pursuance of sound 

c 15 ] 



JFountmtion ^toncfi to 

methods, one must begin, not by neglect of 
the little every-day things, but by assiduous 
attention to them. Thus the hour of ris- 
ing is important, and its regularity signifi- 
cant; as also are the time of retiring to rest, 
and the number of hours given to sleep. 
Between the regularity and irregularity of 
meals, and the care and carelessness with 
which they are eaten, is all the difference 
between a good and bad digestion (with all 
that this implies) and an irritable or com- 
fortable frame of mind, with its train of 
good or bad consequences, for, attaching 
to these meal-times and meal-ways are mat- 
ters of both physiological and psychological 
significance. The due division of hours for 
business and for play, not confusing the 
two, the orderly fitting in of all the details 
of one's business, times for solitude, for 
silent thought and for effective action, for 
eating and for abstinence — all these things 
must have their lawful place in the life of 
him whose "daily round" is to proceed with 
[ 16 ] 



^appmesfc antr ^ucces& 

the minimum degree of friction, who is to 
get the most of usefulness, influence, and 
joy out of life. 

But all this is but the beginning of that 
comprehensive method which embraces the 
whole life and being. When this smooth 
order and logical consistency is extended 
to the words and actions, to the thoughts 
and desires, then wisdom emerges from 
folly, and out of weakness comes power 
sublime. When a man so orders his mind 
as to produce a beautiful working harmony 
between all its parts, then he reaches the 
highest wisdom, the highest efficiency, the 
highest happiness. 

But this is the end; and he who would 
reach the end must begin at the beginning. 
He must systematize and render logical and 
smooth the smallest details of his life, pro- 
ceeding step by step toward the finished 
accomplishment. But each step will yield 
its own particular measure of strength and 
gladness. 

c 17 1 



Jfounbation ^tones 

To sum up, method produces that 
smoothness which goes with strength and 
efficiency. Discipline is method applied to 
the mind. It produces that calmness which 
goes with power and happiness. Method 
is working by rule; discipline is living by 
rule. But working and living are not sepa- 
rate; they are but two aspects of character, 
of life. 

Therefore, be orderly in work; be ac- 
curate in speech; be logical in thought. Be- 
tween these and slovenliness, inaccuracy, 
and confusion, is the difference between suc- 
cess and failure, music and discord, happi- 
ness and misery. 

The adoption of sound methods of work- 
ing, acting, thinking, — in a word, of living, 
is the surest and safest foundation for sound 
health, sound success, sound peace of mind. 
The foundation of unsound methods will 
be found to be unstable, and to yield fear 
and unrest even while it appears to succeed; 
when failure comes, it is grievous indeed. 

[ 18 ] 



Crue Jettons 



Crue Bttiate 

FOLLOWING on Right Principles and 
Methods, come True Actions. One 
who is striving to grasp true principles and 
work with sound methods will soon come 
to perceive that details of conduct cannot 
be overlooked, — that, indeed, those details 
are fundamentally distinctive or creative, 
according to their nature, and are, there- 
fore, of deep significance and comprehen- 
sive importance; and this perception and 
knowledge of the nature and power of pass- 
ing actions will gradually open and grow 
within him as an added vision, a new revela- 
tion. As he acquires this insight, his prog- 
ress will be more rapid, his pathway in life 
more sure, his days more serene and peace- 
ful; in all things he will go the true and 
direct way, unswayed and untroubled by 
the external forces that play around and 
about him. Not that he will be indifferent 

[ 21 ] 



Jpounbation Atones to 

to the welfare and happiness of those about 
him; that is quite another thing; but he will 
be indifferent to their opinions, to their 
ignorance, to their ungoverned passions. 
By True Actions, indeed, is meant acting 
rightly toward others, and the right-doer 
knows that actions in accordance with truth 
are but for the happiness of those about 
him, and he w T ill do them even though an 
occasion may arise when some one near to 
him may advise or implore him to do other- 
wise. 

True actions may easily be distinguished 
from false by all w r ho wish so to distinguish 
in order that they may avoid false action, 
and adopt true. As in the material world 
we distinguish things by their form, color, 
size, etc., choosing those things which we 
require, and putting by those things which 
are not useful to us, so in the spiritual world 
of deeds, we can distinguish between those 
that are bad and those that are good by 
their nature, their aim, and their effect, and 

[ 22 ] 



can choose and adopt those that are good, 
and ignore those that are bad. 

In all forms of progress, avoidance of 
the bad always precedes acceptance and 
knowledge of the good, just as a child at 
school learns to do its lessons right by hav- 
ing repeatedly pointed out to it how it has 
done them wrong. If one does not know 
what is wrong and how to avoid it, how can 
he know what is right and how to practise 
it? Bad, or untrue, actions are those that 
spring from a consideration of one's own 
happiness only, and ignore the happiness of 
others, that arise in violent disturbances of 
the mind and unlawful desires, or that call 
for concealment in order to avoid undesir- 
able complications. Good, or true, actions 
are those* that spring from a consideration 
for others, that arise in calm reason and 
harmonious thought framed on moral prin- 
ciples, or that will not involve the doer in 
shameful consequences if brought into the 
full light of day. 

[ *3 ] 



JFounbattcm ^tones! to 

The right-doer will avoid those acts of 
personal pleasure and gratification which by 
their nature bring annoyance, pain, or suf- 
fering to others, no matter how insignificant 
those actions may appear to be. He will 
begin by putting away these; he will gain a 
knowledge of the unselfish and true by first 
sacrificing the selfish and untrue. He will 
learn not to speak or act in anger, or envy, 
or resentment, but will study how to con- 
trol his mind, and will restore it to calm- 
ness before acting; and, most important of 
all, he will avoid, as he would the drinking 
of deadly poison, those acts of trickery, de- 
ceit, double-dealing in order to gain some 
personal profit or advantage, and which 
lead, sooner or later, to exposure and shame 
for the doer of them. If a man is prompted 
to do a thing which he needs to conceal, 
and which he would not lawfully and 
frankly defend if it were examined of wit- 
ness, he should know by that, that it is a 
wrong act, and therefore to be abandoned 

1 2 4 ] 



i^appmesisJ anb Success 

without one further moment of considera- 
tion. 

The carrying out of this principle of hon- 
esty and sincerity of action, too, will further 
lead him into such a path of thoughtfulness 
in right-doing as will enable him to avoid 
doing those things which would involve him 
in the deceptive practices of other people. 
Before signing papers, or entering into ver- 
bal or written arrangements, or engaging 
himself to others in any way at their re- 
quest, particularly if they be strangers, he 
will first inquire into the nature of the work 
or undertaking, and so, enlightened, he will 
know exactly what to do, and will be 
fully aware of the import of his action. To 
the right-doer, thoughtlessness is a crime. 
Thousands of actions done with good in- 
tent lead to disastrous consequences because 
they are acts of thoughtlessness, and it is 
well said that "the way to hell is paved 
with good intentions." The man of true 
actions is, above all things, thoughtful; 

c 25 ] 



Jfounbatton J>tonetf to 

"Be ye therefore wise.as serpents and harm- 
less as doves." 

The term Thoughtlessness covers a wide 
field in the realm of deeds. It is only by 
increasing in thoughtfulness that a man can 
come to understand the nature of actions, 
and, can, thereby, acquire the power of 
always doing that which is right. It is im- 
possible for a man to be thoughtful and act 
foolishly. Thoughtfulness embraces wis- 
dom. 

It is not enough that an action is 
prompted by a good impulse or intention; 
it must arise in thoughtful consideration if 
it is to be a true action; and the man who 
washes to be permanently happy in himself 
and a power for good to others must con- 
cern himself only with true actions. U I did 
it with the best of intentions" is a poor 
excuse from one who has thoughtlessly 
involved himself in the wrong-doing of 
others. His bitter experience should teach 
him to act more thoughtfully in the future. 

[ 26 ] 



^appmesfc anb ^ntccesK 

True actions can only spring from a true 
mind; and therefore while a man is learning 
to distinguish and choose between the false 
and the true, he is correcting and perfecting 
his mind, and is thereby rendering it more 
harmonious and felicitous, more efficient 
and powerful. As he acquires the "inner 
eye" to clearly distinguish the right in all 
the details.of life, and the faith and knowl- 
edge to do it, he will realize that he is build- 
ing the house of his character and life upon 
a rock which the winds of failure and the 
storms of persecution can never undermine. 



c 27 1 



QCtm >£peecfi 



TRUTH is known by practice only. 
Without sincerity there can be no 
knowledge of Truth; and true speech is the 
beginning of all sincerity. Truth in all its 
native beauty and original simplicity con- 
sists in abandoning and not doing all those 
things which are untrue, and in embracing 
and doing all those things which are true. 
True speech is therefore one of the ele- 
mentary beginnings in the life of Truth. 
Falsehood, and all forms of deception; 
slander and all forms of evil-speaking— 
these must be totally abandoned and abol- 
ished before the mind can receive even a 
small degree of spiritual enlightenment. 
The liar and slanderer is lost in darkness; 
so deep is his darkness that he cannot dis- 
tinguish between good and evil, and he per- 
suades himself that his lying and evil-speak- 
ing are necessary and good, that he is there- 
by protecting himself and other people. 

c 31 ] 



ifounbatton ^>tonza to 

Let the would-be student of "higher 
things" look to himself and beware of self- 
delusion. If he is given to uttering words 
that deceive, or to speaking evil of others 
— if he speaks in insincerity, envy, or mal- 
ice — then he has not yet begun to study 
higher things. He may be studying meta- 
physics, or miracles, or psychic phenomena, 
or astral wonders — he may be studying how 
to commune w T ith invisible beings, to travel 
invisibly during sleep, or to produce curious 
phenomena — he may even study spirituality 
theoretically and as a mere book study, but 
if he is a deceiver and a back-biter, the 
higher life is hidden from him. For the 
higher things are these — uprightness, sin- 
eerily, innocence, purity, kindness, gentle- 
ness, faithfulness, humility, patience, pity, 
sympathy, self-sacrifice, joy, goodwill, love 
— and he who would study them, know 
them, and make them his own, must prac- 
tise them, there is no other way. 

Lying and evil-speaking belong to the 

1 32 ] 



^appineste anb g>utttti& 

lowest forms of spiritual ignorance, and 
there can be no such thing as spiritual en- 
lightenment while they are practised. Their 
parents are selfishness and hatred. 

Slander is akin to lying, but it is even 
more subtle, as it is frequently associated 
with indignation, and by assuming more 
successfully the appearance of truth, it en- 
snares many who would not tell a deliberate 
falsehood. For there are two sides to slan- 
der — there is the making or repeating of it, 
and there is the listening to it and acting 
upon it. The slanderer would be powerless 
without a listener. Evil words require an 
ear that is receptive to evil in which they 
may fall, before they can flourish; there- 
fore he who listens to a slander, who be- 
lieves it, and allows himself to be influenced 
against the person whose character and 
reputation are defamed, is in the same posi- 
tion as the one who framed or repeated the 
evil report. The evil-speaker is a positive 
slanderer; the evil-listener is a passive slan- 

[ 33 ] 



ifounbatton g>tont& to 

derer. The two are co-operators in the 
propagation of evil. 

Slander is a common vice and a dark and 
deadly one. An evil report begins in igno- 
rance, and pursues its blind way in dark- 
ness. It generally takes its rise in a mis- 
understanding. Some one feels that he, or 
she, has been badly treated, and, filed with 
indignation and resentment, unburdens him- 
self to his friends and others in vehement 
language, exaggerating the enormity of the 
supposed offence on account of the feeling 
of injury by which he is possessed; his lis- 
teners, without hearing the other person's 
version of w r hat has taken place, and on no 
other proof than the violent words of an 
angry man or woman, become cold in their 
attitude toward the one spoken against, 
and repeat to others what they have been 
told, and as such repetition is always more 
or less inaccurate, a distorted and altogether 
untrue report is soon passing from mouth 
to mouth. 

[ 34 ] 



It is because slander is such a common 
vice that it can work the suffering and in- 
jury that it does. It is because so many (not 
deliberate wrong-doers, and unconscious of 
the nature of the evil into which they so 
easily fall) are ready to allow themselves 
to be influenced against one whom they have 
hitherto regarded as honorable, that an evil 
report can do its deadly work. Yet its work 
is only amongst those who have not alto- 
gether acquired the virtue of true speech, 
the cause of which is a truth-loving mind. 
When one who has not entirely freed him- 
self from repeating or believing an evil 
report about another, hears of an evil 
report about himself, his mind becomes 
aflame with burning resentment, his sleep 
is broken and his peace of mind is de- 
stroyed. He thinks the cause of all his 
suffering is in the other man and what that 
man has said about him, and is ignorant of 
the truth that the root and cause of his suf- 
fering lies in his own readiness to believe 

[ 35 ] 



ifounbation Atones; to 

an evil report about another. The virtuous 
man — he who has attained to true speech, 
and whose mind is sealed against even the 
appearance of evil-speaking — cannot be in- 
jured and disturbed about any evil reports 
concerning himself; and although his repu- 
tation may for a time be stained in the 
minds of those who are prone to suggestions 
of evil, his integrity remains untouched and 
his character unsoiled; for no one can be 
stained by the evil deeds of another, but 
only by his own wrong-doing. And so, 
through all misrepresentation, misunder- 
standing, and contumely, he is untroubled 
and unrevengeful; his sleep is undisturbed, 
and his mind remains in peace. 

True speech is the beginning of a pure, 
wise and well-ordered life. If one would 
attain to purity of life, if he would lessen 
the evil and suffering of the world, let him 
abandon falsehood and slander in thought 
and word, let him avoid even the appear- 
ance of these things, for there are no lies 

[ 36 ] 



happiness anb Success 

and slanders so deadly as those which are 
half-truths, and let him not be a participant 
in evil-speaking by listening to it. Let him 
also have compassion on the evil-speaker, 
knowing how such a one is binding himself 
to suffering and unrest; for no liar can know 
the bliss of Truth; no slanderer can enter 
the kingdom of peace. 

By the words which he utters is a man's 
spiritual condition declared; by these also 
is he finally and infallibly adjudged, for as 
the Divine Master of the Christian world 
has declared: — "By thy words shalt thou 
be justified, and by thy words shalt thou 
be condemned." 



[ 37 ] 



CquaKpmfaeime** 



TO be equally minded is to be peace- 
fully minded, for a man cannot be 
said to have arrived at peace who allows 
his mind to be disturbed and thrown off the 
balance by occurrences. 

The man of wisdom is dispassionate, and 
meets all things with the calmness of a mind 
in repose and free from prejudice. He is 
not a partisan, having put away passion, 
and he is always at peace with himself and 
the world, not taking sides nor defending 
himself, but sympathizing with all. 

The partisan is so convinced that his own 
opinion and his own side are right, and all 
that goes contrary to them is wrong, that 
he cannot think there is any good in the 
other opinion and the other side. He lives 
in a continual fever of attack and defence, 
and has no knowledge of the quiet peace 
of an equal mind. 

[ 41 ] 



Jfounbatton gtonti to 

The equal-minded man watches himself 
in order to check and overcome even the 
appearance of passion and prejudice in his 
mind, and by so doing he develops sym- 
pathy for others, and comes to understand 
their position and particular state of mind; 
and as he comes to understand others, he 
perceives the folly of condemning them and 
opposing himself to them. Thus there 
grows up in his heart a divine charity w r hich 
cannot be limited, but which is extended 
to all things that live and strive and suffer. 

When a man is under the sway of passion 
and prejudice he is spiritually blind. Seeing 
nothing but good in his own side, and noth- 
ing but evil in the other, he cannot see any- 
thing as it really is, not even his own side; 
and not understanding himself, he cannot 
understand the hearts of others, and thinks 
it is right that he should condemn them. 
Thus there grows up in his heart a dark 
hatred for those who refuse to see with him 
and who condemn him in return, he be- 

c 42 ] 



comes separated from his fellow-men, and 
confines himself to a narrow torture-cham- 
ber of his own making. 

Sweet and peaceful are the days of the 
equal-minded man, fruitful in good, and 
rich in manifold blessings. Guided by wis- 
dom, he avoids those pathways which lead 
down to hatred and sorrow and pain, and 
takes those which lead up to love and peace 
and bliss. The occurrences of life do not 
trouble him, nor does he grieve over those 
things which are regarded by mankind as 
grievous, but which must befall all men in 
the ordinary course of nature. He is neither 
elated by success nor cast down by failure. 
He sees the events of his life arrayed in 
their proper proportions, and can find no 
room for selfish wishes or vain regrets, for 
vain anticipations and childish disappoint- 
ments. 

And how is this equal-mindedness — this 
blessed state of mind and life — acquired? 
Only by overcoming one's self, only by 

[ 43 ] 



iFounbation g>t(mt& 

purifying one's own heart, for the purifica- 
tion of the heart leads to unbiassed compre- 
hension, unbiassed comprehension leads 
to equal-mindedness, and equal-mindedness 
leads to peace. The impure man is swept 
helplessly away on the waves of passion; 
the pure man guides himself into the harbor 
of rest. The fool says, "I have an opin- 
ion" ; the wise man goes about his business. 



[ 44 ] 



<0oob ftesmlte 



O&oob dtesulte 

A CONSIDERABLE portion of the 
happenings of life come to us with- 
out any direct choosing on our part, and 
such happenings are generally regarded as 
having no relation to our will or character, 
but as appearing fortuitously, as occurring 
without a cause. Thus one is spoken of as 
being "lucky," and another "unlucky," the 
inference being that each has received some- 
thing which he never earned, never caused. 
Deeper thought and a clearer insight into 
life convince us, however, that nothing 
happens without a cause, and that cause and 
effect are always related in perfect adjust- 
ment and harmony. This being so, every 
happening directly affecting us is intimately 
related to our own will and character, is, 
indeed, an effect justly related to a cause 
having its seat in our consciousness. In a 
word, involuntary happenings of life are 

[ 47 ] 



ifotmbation ^tonesf to 

the results of our own thoughts and deeds. 
This, I admit, is not apparent on the sur- 
face, but what fundamental law, even in 
the physical universe, is so apparent? If 
thought, investigation, and experiment are 
necessary to the discovery of the principles 
which relate one material atom to another, 
even so are they imperative to the percep- 
tion and understanding of the mode of 
action which relate one mental condition 
to another; and such modes, such laws, are 
known by the right-doer, by him who has 
acquired an understanding mind by the 
practice of true actions. 

We reap as we sow. Those things which 
come to us, though not by our own choos- 
ing, are by our causing. The drunkard did 
not choose the delirium tremens or insanity 
which overtook him, but he caused it by his 
own deeds. In this case the law is plain 
to all minds, but where it is not so plain, 
it is none the less true. Within ourselves 
is the deep-seated cause of all our suffer- 

c 48 ] 



ings, the spring of all our joys. Alter the 
inner world of thoughts, and the outer 
world of events will cease to bring you sor- 
row; make the heart pure, and to you all 
things will be pure, all occurrences happy 
and in true order. 

M Within yourselves deliverance must besought, 
Each man his prison makes. 
Each hath such lordship as the loftiest ones; 
Nay, for with Powers above, around, 
below 
As with all flesh and whatsoever lives, 
Act maketh joy or woe." 

Our life is good or bad, enslaved or free, 
according to its causation in our thoughts, 
for out of these thoughts spring all our 
deeds ; and from these deeds come equitable 
results. We cannot seize good results vio- 
lently, like a thief, and claim and enjoy 
them, but we can bring them to pass by 
setting in motion the causes within our- 
selves. 

Men strive for money, sigh for happi- 

[ 49 ] 



ifounbatton ^toneg to 

ness, and would gladly possess wisdom, yet 
fail to secure these things, while they see 
others to whom these blessings appear to 
come unbidden. The reason is that they 
have generated causes which prevent the 
fulfilment of their wishes and efforts. 

Each life is a perfectly woven net-work 
of causes and effects, of efforts (or lack of 
efforts) and results, and good results can 
only be reached by initiating good efforts, 
good causes. The doer of true actions, who 
pursues sound methods grounded on right 
principles, will not need to strive and strug- 
gle for good results; they will be there as 
the effects of his righteous rule of life. He 
will reap the fruit of his own actions and 
the reaping will be in gladness and peace. 

This truth of sowing and reaping in the 
moral sphere is a simple one, yet men are 
slow to understand and accept it. We 
have been told by a Wise One that "the 
children of darkness are wiser in their day 
than the children of light," and who would 

[ 50 ] 



^apptnegs anb Success; 

expect, in the material world, to reap and 
eat where he had not sown and planted? 
Or who would expect to reap wheat in the 
field where he had sown tares, and would 
fall to weeping and complaining if he did 
not? Yet this is just what men do in the 
spiritual field of mind and deed. They do 
evil, and expect to get from it good, and 
when the bitter harvesting comes in all its 
ripened fulness, they fall into despair, and 
bemoan the hardness and injustice of their 
lot, usually attributing it to the evil deeds 
of others, refusing even to admit the possi- 
bility of its cause being hidden in them- 
selves, in their own thoughts and deeds. 
The children of light — -those who are 
searching for the fundamental principles 
of right living with a view to making them- 
selves into wise and happy beings — must 
train themselves to observe this law of cause 
and effect in thought, word and deed, as 
implicitly and obediently as the gardener 
obeys the law of sowing and reaping. He 

[ 51 1 



ipounbattou J>tones( to 

does not even question the law; he recog- 
nizes and obeys it. When the wisdom which 
he instinctively practises in his garden, is 
practised by men in the garden of their 
minds — when the law of the sowing of 
deeds is so fully recognized that it can no 
longer be doubted or questioned — then it 
will be just as faithfully followed by the 
sowing of those actions which will bring 
about a reaping of happiness and well-be- 
ing for all. As the children of matter 
obey the laws of matter, so let the chil- 
dren of spirit obey the laws of spirit, for 
the law of matter and the law of spirit are 
one; they are but two aspects of one 
thing; the outworking of one principle in 
opposite directions. 

If we observe right principles or causes, 
wrong effects cannot possibly accrue. If we 
pursue sound methods, no shoddy thread 
can find its way into the w T eb of our life, no 
rotten brick enter into the building of our 
character to render it insecure; and if we do 

[ 52 ] 



^appinegs; anb &uat&& 

true actions, what but good results can 
come to pass; for to say that good causes 
can produce bad effects is to say that nettles 
can be reaped from a sowing of corn. 

He who orders his life along the moral 
lines thus briefly enunciated, will attain to 
such a state of insight and equilibrium as 
to render him permanently happy and per- 
ennially glad ; all his efforts will be season- 
ably planted; all the issues of his life will 
be good, and though he may not become a 
millionaire — as indeed he will have no de- 
sire to become such — he will acquire the 
gift of peace, and true success will wait 
upon him as its commanding master* 



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